Alberta man pleads guilty to mischief for illegally selling horses

The case involving a man who was originally from southern Alberta has been resolved.

Wayne Jubb, 78, has pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief for destroying or damaging property.

He was originally charged with theft of livestock, trafficking stolen property and uttering forged documents.

RCMP charged Jubb after a woman reported her two horses, aged 23 and 16, had been sold without her consent. Court heard Jubb’s ex wife passed away at the beginning of April 2018, after caring for the two horses for five years at her boarding facility she ran with her son.

After her death, her son asked Jubb to help him deal with roughly 30 horses on the property, after being served a bankruptcy order declaring they had to vacate the premise by the end of the month.

Jubb’s son told the owner of the horses, who lives in British Columbia, that his mother had passed away and the pair of horses needed to be gone by the end of the month, but there was no communication confirming when the owner would be relocating the horses.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

On April 28. 2018 the owner’s daughter arrived to the property near Stirling to get the horses and learned that Jubb had taken the horses to the Picture Butte Auction on April 26, where they were sold for slaughter and had already been killed.

Jubb had signed a document at the market stating he was the owner of the horses.

WATCH: (Aug. 9, 2019) Man who fired gun at Lethbridge home gets 6-year jail sentence

1:36 Man who fired gun at Lethbridge home gets 6-year jail sentence

His lawyer told the court he had understood the owners were thinking of selling the horses and was in a rush to get them off the property. The horses sold for $799.

Jubb admitted to all of the facts read to the court.

The man, who no longer lives in southern Alberta, is ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution plus the money from the sale of the horses.

He was also given a $750 fine.

Victim impact statements were heard. The owner said she feels she has let her horses down, who she considered part of the family. The judge noted that Jubb’s attachment to the animals was not the same as the owner’s, but said it was his duty to care for them, not to have them killed.

The additional charges have been withdrawn.